Serial Date: A Leine Basso Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page B

A brutal alcoholic, their stepfather enjoyed ambushing Peter when he came home from his afternoon job at the local newspaper. On one occasion, he nearly broke Peter's neck. This did not sit well with Edward who had a near reverence for Peter. Peter had been the only one who understood why Edward punished the mean dogs in the neighborhood. In Edward's mind, killing his stepfather counted as payback for Peter's friendship.
    “Edward, you know you have to take the pills or the blackness comes back, right?”
    Edward avoided Peter's eyes and continued to dig inside the box.
    Peter went into the bathroom and came back out with a full bottle of pills in his hand. Edward backed away, shaking his head.
    “No. You can't make me take them. They make me someone else inside, Peter. Please don't make me take them-”
    Edward described the blackness once as being trapped in a dark basement with only a small glimmer of light visible overhead. His thoughts during this time scared him and as a result kept to himself. People passed him off as extremely shy. He told Peter that when he was around, sometimes the door to the basement opened and the light poured in and he felt normal. As Peter became more successful and had less time to spend with Edward, the blackness became more prevalent, until it could only be controlled with medication.
    Peter placed the bottle of pills on the table.
    “You have to take these. Something happened at work and there are cops all over the place. If they find out about you and what you've done, they're going to come down hard, believe that you're the bad person they're looking for.”
    Peter took a step forward. Edward edged back until the wall stopped him.
    “You haven't been on set again, have you Edward? Like at night when everyone's gone home?”
    He shook his head. “No, Peter, I only did it that one time, I swear. I never do it anymore because you told me not to.”
    Peter nodded. Edward was covering something up, that much was obvious. He knew if he looked in the freezer, he'd probably find plastic bags filled with small animal parts, but he didn’t feel like looking today.
    “Fine. I believe you. But you have to promise me you'll take your medication every day.”
    Edward broke into a relieved grin. “Yes, I will take the medication, Peter, I promise.”
     
     
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    Leine watched as Billy maneuvered in for Tina's close up, using a handheld camera to achieve the show's signature documentary feel. Personally, Leine got a queasy stomach whenever she watched the playback. She didn't do so well in the back seat of a moving car, either.
    “It’s an incredible adrenaline rush to think that I could be next,” Tina said with a breathy sigh. She turned to look at Javier and playfully wiggled her petite foot at him. On cue, Javier looked into the camera and grinned. He lay stretched across a layer of cream-colored satin pillows as he painted Tina’s toenails shell pink, bobbing his head and shoulders to the incessant beat of techno dance music.
    A sultry Asian beauty with dark, kohl-lined eyes, Tina's shock of white-blonde hair and sparkly, hot pink mini dress contrasted sharply to Javier's dark good looks, black tux and flawless tan. The magic of body makeup.
    They were filming Tina's 'confession' for that week's show. She appeared unperturbed as she recited her lines on camera, although Leine noticed she alternated between gripping the arms of her chair and smoothing her hair back.
    The process of shooting a reality show may be interesting to some people, but the well-scripted performances put Leine in escape mode. She'd had enough lying and subterfuge in her old life and deception now set her teeth on edge. It didn't matter that the audience was more or less complicit.
    Then there were the contestants. X-ray thin, the way they stared at a hoagie made Leine eat her lunch off-site. What would make a young, attractive woman take a chance on making a love connection with a